Stitches
by Anika Malfoy
Summary: Everyone has secrets and secret keepers. Jounouchi's secret keeper had always been Honda, until one day he was forced to trust Kaiba Seto with those secrets. Eventual SetoKatsuya.
1. Prequel

A/N: Why am I writing this? Boredom mostly...but also in the hope that it will get my hikari interested in the couple. I love the couple! Yay! Special thanx to my Hikari for reading this over and helping me find the errors that needed fixing.

Disclaimer: If these characters were mine, do you really think that I'd be posting Fanfiction here? I didn't think so.

Warning: The rating of this story will most likely change later (if I get enough reviews to keep it going), but for now we'll keep it simple.

Pairing: Jounouchi Katsuya and Kaiba Seto.

Minor Parings: To be decided. Let me know what you want.

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With trembling hands, he wetted an old dish towel and pressed it against the cut. There was no chance that he'd be able to hide this one, he'd have to think of a way to excuse it. When that cut was clean, he moved on to the ones across his shoulder and back. These were deeper, and it was agony to touch them. His tears were back, but they weren't caused by physical pain.

Jounouchi slowly and delicately slipped off the torn shirt he wore. The shirt was trash now, too much blood on it. He had thrown away more shirts this month than usual, this meant that something bad had happened to his father. Something that made the rage boil in his stomach, rage that would continue to be taken out on Jounouchi. Jou knew that he couldn't stay here tonight, knew that soon his father would be back. And when he got back, he would be even more drunk.

Jou abandoned the bathroom for his own bedroom. He grabbed his backpack and a clean shirt, and then headed for the front door. He was halfway there when he froze, listening. There was a car approaching. Jounouchi closed his eyes and prayed. Sweat broke out on the boy's forehead as he heard the car slow down and stop. A door opened and slammed shut. It was him.

The blond ran down the hall and into his room. He closed and locked the door, just as he heard the front door open. The footsteps coming down the hall made Jounouchi's heart pound. He watched the handle shake and heard his father scream for him to open the door.

In a trance Jounouchi walked to the window on the other side of the room and opened it as quietly as he could. If his father heard the squeak of the window, he was dead. The teen slid his laundry basket over, and climbed on it and out of the house. He reached up and closed the window quietly, then ran as hard and as fast as he could.

Honda lived almost a mile away, and Jou made it there in a little over three minutes. He didn't bother knocking on the door, but ran straight to Honda's window. Jou stopped outside and looked at the house, every light was off. It was past midnight now. He hated waking his friend up, hated coming to his friend beaten and broken. But Honda would never forgive him if he went somewhere else, and Jou didn't really have anywhere else to go.

Jounouchi swallowed his pride and tapped on the window. He didn't have to wait very long, before it slid open to reveal his best friends worried face. Hiroto Honda quickly moved out of the way so Jou could climb in. Honda's room was the blond boy's sanctuary. Hidden under the bed was a box with food, bandages, water, and disinfectant in it. In the closet hung one of Jou's school uniforms and in the bathroom was an extra toothbrush.

"Are you okay?" Honda asked as he pulled out their emergency box.

"For now," Jounouchi sat down on Honda's bed and pulled off his shirt, which was now as covered in blood as the first had been. All the running had torn his cuts back open.

Honda looked up at his blond friend. Jounouchi met his gaze and tried with all his heart and soul to look as though everything were fine. He couldn't pull it off. Honda had known Jou too long not to be able to see through his shields to the anguish behind.

"Jou..." There was nothing he could say, nothing that would make the blonds pain lessen. Honda wished with all his being that he could take his friend's anguish into himself so that Jou didn't have to feel it.

"Don't look so sad. I'm fine. It's not as bad as it could have been." Jounouchi forced himself to smile. "Just help me clean these up and I'll be fine."

Honda ran his hand through his brown hair, pushing away the strand that had fallen in his eyes. He pulled the disinfectant from the box and set to work. He cleaned the wounds and wrapped them, then grabbed a night-shirt for his friend and pulled a cot from his closet. He went into the hall and grabbed a blanket and pillow.

When the bed was made up, he looked again into Jou's eyes. The hurt there was unbearable. Something more than just a beating had happened to the teen since the last time Honda had seen him. Something that was more emotional than physical.

"What happened?" Honda asked; he knew that he didn't have to be more specific. Jounouchi would know what he meant.

"A dream," Jou's mouth was a thin line. "I dreamed that I killed him. I took a knife and I killed him. I just meant to hurt him, but once I started I couldn't stop. I stabbed and stabbed until..."

"Jou," Honda wanted to tell him that it was just a dream, that it didn't mean anything. But the look on Jounouchi's face told him that it was more than a dream to him.

"When he hit me tonight, I wanted it to be true. I wanted to grab a knife and...I wanted it to happen." Jounouchi let his tears fall, Honda wouldn't condemn him for crying. Honda never had. "I'm as bad as him."

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" The brunette was furious that his friend could think this. Jounouchi was kind, and gentle, and more caring than any person that Honda had ever met. He was nothing like his father. And he told Jou so.

"But...I wanted him dead. I wanted to KILL him." His tears were a river down his cheeks now.

"But you didn't. You didn't hurt him at all." Honda couldn't restrain himself any longer; he sat down beside his friend and wrapped his arms gently around the blond's shoulders. Jou rested his head on Honda's shoulder. "You would never hurt him, even if you wish it. That's what makes you different from him...from so many others. So many people would try to fight back, they'd let the hate and anger turn them into their abuser. But you don't. You stay you, you stay kind."

Jounouchi didn't reply, he didn't even move for a few minutes. He just sat there, letting his tears dry out. Honda didn't insist on an answer, he didn't force his friend to do anything. Jou would come around in his own time.

"Thank you." Jounouchi whispered, then stood and walked over to the cot. He crawled under the blanket and laid his head on the pillow, then looked at Honda and whispered, "Thank you." again before falling fast asleep.

The brunette watched his friend for a moment, marveling at how Jou could look so peaceful while sleeping, even after an event like this. Again Honda wished that he could take away all Jou's pain. It was a wish that he'd had since the first time the boy's met, in kindergarten. Even back then his father had been hitting him, and the beatings had only intensified over the years. Many times in his life Honda had dreamed the same dream that Jou described. Many times he had wanted to hurt or even kill Jou's father. But he knew that he couldn't, Jou would never forgive him. And he wasn't so sure that he could kill, even a scum-bag like Mr. Jounouchi.

By morning the cut on Jounouchi's forehead had developed a dark purple bruise around it. This definitely wasn't going to be easy to pass off. The two boys dressed for school, all the while discussing possible stories on how he had acquired the wound. They finally settled on one involving Jou fighting with a senior. The guys were used to hearing Jounouchi-fight stories, they'd accept it.

When the two were dressed and ready, they headed downstairs. Honda's mom was making pancakes for breakfast. The smell of the food made Jounouchi's stomach growl embarrassingly loud. He hadn't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours.

"Hey, look who showed up last night." Honda said this every time Jou showed up in the middle of the night. At first his parents questioned why he had come over so late, but after receiving the same answer of 'I just missed Mrs. Honda's cooking' they learned to stop questioning it. Now Jou's turning up in the middle of the night was as normal to them as anything else the boy did.

"Hello, Jounouchi dear. Hungry?" Hiroto's mom smiled as Jounouchi's stomach growled again.

"Always," Jou answered with a smile. The blond had never been known to turn down food.

"Hey there, Jounouchi. How've you been?" Honda's dad called from the living room, where he was peering into a mirror and straightening his tie.

"I'm okay. And you?" This conversation was routine among Jounouchi and the Hondas.

"I'm good. You boys make sure you're not late for school. I've gotta get going. See you later." Mr. Honda kissed his wife on the cheek once before walking through the front door.

Once the boys were fed and watered, they left too. Honda's silver motorcycle was parked in the driveway. Jounouchi pulled a blue jacket over his school uniform, Honda pulled on his favorite red and black jacket. They strapped on their helmets, put a leg over the seat of the bike, and headed off toward the school.

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A/N: That's it for the first chapter, I promise that it will get less depressing…somewhat. Oh, and no, there is no relationship beyond a deep friendship going on between Honda and Jou. I'm posting the next chapter now too, in the hope of inspiring people to read and review, and it will be happier. Yay!


	2. Stitches

A/N: I'm also working on a different fic, called For Crying Out Loud. Go read it, because I'm on Chapter 6 and haven't even gotten one review for it! Pout

This chapter will introduce Kaiba to the story, as well as the rest of Jou's friends. I have a hard time writing Kaiba, so if he starts getting OOC, then let me know. How can I keep him in character if no one tells me that he's not acting like himself?

Important information:

'_Thoughts'_

_:Scene change:_

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_Chapter One: Stitches_

"Have you been fighting again?"

Anzu was the first to notice Jounouchi's battered appearance. He had hardly made it off Honda's bike when the girl cornered him for questioning; the rest of the group wasn't far behind.

"What on earth would give you that idea?" Jou decided that the "dumb and innocent" act was the best way to handle the situation. After all, it had never let him down before.

"Jounouchi Katsuya, you should know better than to be picking fights with people. Especially people who are bigger and stronger than you."

Some days, Jou really wanted to throw a shoe at Anzu. Don't ask why he wanted to throw a **shoe **at her, that was just the object he had decided on a long time ago.

"What makes you think I started the fight? That senior was just begging to be punched!" Jou yelled, daring daggers at the girl.

Honda put an arm around Jou's shoulders, "Yeah, and who says the guy was bigger and stronger and Jou. I bet my bud kicked his ass into next week!"

Jounouchi tried not to laugh at his friends. It was so easy to make them see only what they wanted to see…only what they had been trained to see. And people called him the dog! He had his friends so trained that he sometimes worried about them.

"Jounouchi-kun, you really shouldn't be fighting with people. You know it makes us worry about you." Yugi said, interrupting the glaring battle going on between Anzu and Honda.

The blond sighed, trying not to imagine what the shorter teen would do if he ever found out the truth about Jounouchi's supposed "fights".

"I know Yug, and I really do try. But I…He…" Jounouchi cut off here for a second, sighing dramatically, "I'll try not to fight anymore, but I ain't promising nothing."

Yugi smiled up at his friend as they made their way to class. Jou looked away quickly, it never ceased to amaze him that Yugi's happiness could hurt the blond so much. He wished that he was the kind of person who could take comfort in his friends' happiness, but every time Yugi smiled at Jou, all the blond could do was wish that his own smiles were real.

_:In Class:_

'_I don't know why I bother, even when I manage to get to school on time, I'm still late for class.'_ Jou thought as he stopped outside his classroom door. It wasn't like it was his fault he was late either. Blame his bladder for bad timing.

"It's really not that complicated, Mutt. Turn the doorknob and pull."

'_I hate Kaiba.'_ "I know how to open a door, Moneybags," Jounouchi growled, turning around to meet the cold cerulean eyes of Kaiba Seto.

"Really? Then do it or get out of my way," The brunette snapped.

Just as a Jou was about to open the door, a thought occurred to him. "What are doing here late anyway, you've never been late before?"

Instead of answering, Kaiba roughly pushed Jounouchi aside, causing the blond's back to collide with a locker, and walked calmly into class. Jou stood tall until the door closed behind the billionaire, before falling to his knees in pain.

He hadn't hit the lockers that hard, but the angle had managed to pull open one of the cuts on his back. Jou could feel that it was bleeding again, but he knew the bandage over the cut would keep the blood from showing through and staining his uniform. When the pain had subsided into a dull throbbing, Jou stood up and walked into class.

Just as the blond sat down, a small folded paper landed on his desk. Honda, who sat in front of Jou, had dropped the note over his shoulder. The blond picked it up and read it, _Where'd you disappear to?_

Picking up his pencil, Jou answered, _Bladder needed to be relived, then had a run-in with Mr. High-and-mighty-see-how-far-this-stick-can-fit-up-my-ass._

Honda took the note, read it, and scribbled something else.

_Want me to pound him into the ground for you?_

Jounouchi answered that with a small drawing of a too-skinny Kaiba with a large stick properly placed and a too-muscular Honda sticking another stick up Kaiba's nose.

_Love it._ Was the brunette's reply. Jounouchi was just about to put the note away when a thought struck him,

_Meet me after class in the usual spot_

At this Honda glanced back worriedly at his friend and mouthed, 'You okay?' Jounouchi gave a thumbs up and a smile that Honda could see through in a second.

By the time class had ended and Jou had made his way to the roof, the blond was slightly worried. It felt like his cut was still oozing blood, which was definitely not a good sign.

"What happened?" Honda asked the minute he had stepped onto the roof.

"Kaiba. He shoved me a little and I twisted wrong or something, because one of my cuts opened back up."

Honda stepped to the blonds side immediately, and waited with as much patience as he could for Jounouchi to pull his shirt off. What he saw when the bandage was pulled away from the wound made him wince, and he had to push down the sudden surge of hate that went through his body.

The cut on Jou's back was deep, deeper than he had thought last night. It was also starting to look infected, and Honda hadn't brought the first-aid kit with him.

"I think you might need stitches, Jou," whispered the brunette.

Jounouchi sighed, "You think you can manage them?"

Honda grimaced, remembering the last time he had attempted to stitch the blond up. "I'll try. I'm gonna sneak into the nurse's office and grab a first-aid kit, I'll try and find some numbing stuff too. I'll be back in a minute."

With that the taller teen left, leaving Jounouchi to worry over the stitches. He remembered all too well how painful the last attempt had been. The blond silently prayed that Honda could find something to dull the pain.

After about ten minutes the door to the roof opened again and Jou looked over his shoulder, "Did you get the…"

His sentence was cut off when his gaze landed on the form of Kaiba Seto.

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:End Chapter:

A/N: Well, watcha think? Let me know your thoughts and ideas…and if you like this one, then go check out my other fic For Crying Out Loud. And pretty pretty please review.


	3. Kaiba

A/N: This chapter took longer than I wanted it to, but I rather like how it turned out. Thank you to my wonderful Hikari (Regulus of Slytherin) for proof reading it for me. And thanks so much to everyone who reviewed feels loved. I have never gotten so many reviews and I am greatly enjoying them. Please let me know if any of the characters start getting OOC…I'm trying my best to keep them in character, but if I slip I need to know so that I can fix it. Thanx.

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Jounouchi stared at the doorway. He knew that he should turn around, and pull his shirt back on, but between the shock and the knowledge that any fast movements would worsen his injuries, Jou was frozen. Of all the people on this planet who could have been standing there, Kaiba was the last one Jou would have picked.

Kaiba walked slowly toward Jounouchi, eyes never leaving the blond boy's mutilated back. Jounouchi bit his lip. He didn't know what to say, or do. Kaiba was getting closer and Jou couldn't move. 'Move _Damnit!'_ Jounouchi shouted to himself.

"Leave him the hell alone!" Honda yelled from the door to the roof. His arms were clenched at his sides and scattered around his feet were the various medical items that he had been getting, and had apparently dropped at the sight of Kaiba.

Honda stormed up to Kaiba, and before the millionaire could so much as blink, Honda had punched him right in the face. "Isn't it bad enough that he's all cut up without you coming here to rub it in his face!"

Kaiba caught Honda's next punch. With his hand wrapped around Honda's fist, Kaiba threw Honda to the ground. Kaiba turned and headed silently for the door.

Jounouchi was now in full on panic mode. "Kaiba!" When the millionaire didn't even slow, Jounouchi tried again, "Don't tell anyone about this! Please." The last was said in a whisper, with the blond's eyes on the ground.

Jou knew that if anything could convince the CEO to keep this a secret, it was Jounouchi begging like a dog. It hurt to drop his pride and beg, but Jounouchi didn't know what else to do. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and all that shit.

"He's talking to you, Kaiba!" Honda yelled as Kaiba walked calmly opened the door.

"What do I care about some dogs yapping?" In spite of his words, Kaiba turned to face the pair.

"I'm not asking you to care, Kaiba. I'm telling you to keep your mouth shut about it," Honda growled. He was always one for over protectiveness when it came to Jounouchi. Honda had known about Jounouchi's secret for years, since before his father had first hit him, back when the abuse was purely emotional. After all the years of taking care of the blond, he had developed a love for him that was deeper than he could have had for any brother.

Kaiba walked over and stared at Jounouchi's back. For his part, Jou was trying desperately not to squirm. It wasn't easy having your deepest secrets and pains laid out for someone who despises you to examine at his leisure.

"You need stitches," Kaiba said coldly, glaring down at the cut across Jounouchi's back.

"We had noticed," Honda said quietly, "I was going to do them when I got back from the nurses office."

Kaiba glanced first at Honda and then at the pile of medical supplies still laying by the door. He glanced back at Honda again and in an emotionless voice said, "You really are an ignoramus. Get his shirt on and come with me."

"What? I'm not going anywhere just cause you say so, Moneybags!" Jounouchi yelled. The last thing he needed right now was for Kaiba to take him god knows where to do god knows what to him.

"Just make sure he's bandaged up well, I don't need his blood ruining the interior of my limo." Kaiba continued looking at Honda, ignoring Jounouchi altogether.

"Stop ignoring me you ass hole. I said I'm not going anywhere with you!"

Honda looked at Jounouchi, studying the cuts across the boy's back. If Kaiba was offering what Honda thought he was offering, then they really should take him up on it. Honda wasn't that good at giving stitches, and he really wasn't eager to see the pain in Jounouchi's face again. Pain Honda had put him through.

"We'll go," Honda said, turning to his friend.

Jounouchi's mouth fell open in shock, "What do you mean we'll go? This is Kaiba we're talking about. Why would we go anywhere with him?"

"Because he might be able and willing to help," Honda grabbed some bandages and began wrapping Jounouchi's wounds again. "You could use a doctor, Jou. You know you don't really want me stitching you up again."

Jou sighed, "Alright." He lifted his arms slowly and pulled his shirt back on. "But you better not try anything stupid, Moneybags."

"I'd hate to sink to your level, Mutt," Kaiba said, turning and leading the way through the door. As he walked he pulled out his cell phone and made a quick call to his driver, demanding to be picked up at once.

Once in the limo, Kaiba made a call to a doctor, ordering him to be at Kaiba Manor in twenty minutes. The rest of the ride was filled with an awkward silence. Jounouchi was praying that this doctor could be trusted.

Just as they stepped out of the limo, Jounouchi looked back at the CEO, "Listen, I can't really afford this now, but I promise that I will pay you back every penny of bill as soon as I can."

"I don't need, nor do I want, your money, Mutt." Kaiba walked briskly to his door, opening it and leading the way inside. It was obvious, from the CEO's stiff posture, that he was uncomfortable with the whole situation, and Jounouchi had the sudden urge to turn on his heals and run. He had never run away before, and he wasn't about to start now.

Jounouchi and Honda made their way slowly into the manor, trying to look as though they belonged here. Jou had never felt more out of place in his life. Now Jou understood how Kaiba could call him a mutt all the time. Compared to this place, Jounouchi's house was like a dog house.

The doctor arrived at the manor shortly after the odd trio. Jounouchi felt a little uncomfortable letting the doctor examine him. In all his years of injuries, Honda was the only person who had ever treated them. When Jounouchi saw the look of pity is the doctor's eyes as the bandages were removed, he almost walked out…until he saw the death glare that Kaiba was giving him. Kaiba didn't offer help often, and Jou knew that if he walked out now, Kaiba was sure to spread the information of Jounouchi's injuries all over the school out of spite.

It didn't take nearly as long for the doctor to stitch him up as Jou expected it to, and it was certainly less painful than Honda's last fumbling attempts. The doctor gave Jounouchi a small supply of pain killers and instructions on how often they could be taken and walked out of the manor, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.

The blond stretched lightly, testing how far he could move without pulling at the stitches.

"Kaiba…um…thanks for doing this. You didn't have to, and I…appreciate it," why did saying thank you to Kaiba have to feel like Jounouchi was having everyone of his teeth pulled out? "Listen…would you…I mean…I don't really want anyone knowing about this, and I was wonderin'…"

Jounouchi didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, because Kaiba grabbed both him and Honda by the elbow and all but threw them out of his manor. Jounouchi stared in shock at the CEO.

"Shit, Kaiba, calm down. All you had to do was ask and we would leave!" Honda glared.

"Why would I care about a mutt like you enough to even bother spreading your secrets?" Kaiba said, closing the door in Jounouchi's face.

That hurt. Jounouchi never wanted anybody's pity, but he had never expected that, should someone find out his secret, they would treat it with complete disregard. Considering who this was, maybe he should have expected the coldness, but he hadn't. He hadn't expected to be taken home, stitched, up, and then tossed away like that, and it hurt.

"Come on," Honda pulled Jounouchi's sleeve lightly and looking at him with worried eyes. "Let's get away from that jerk."

Jounouchi nodded silently, and followed his friend. A part of him was hoping that Kaiba had been telling the truth, that he didn't care enough to tell anyone. A part of him just wished that someone out there, someone besides Honda, could care about him. Never mind that this was Kaiba. This was the only other person that knew his secret, and the fact that they didn't care made Jounouchi feel more miserable.


End file.
